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In this snippet from the Team Flower Foundations class, Kelly walks you through her studio setup and how she organizes everything for maximum efficiency and minimum workload. Many people don’t realize that working in the floral industry can require a lot of manual labor. From picking up and moving buckets of water to processing flowers to delivery, these are all tasks that can take a toll on our bodies!

There are ways to set up your design space to minimize the amount of physical labor you have to do. This will not only improve your overall morale as you work, but it will also allow you to save valuable time that can then be used to design.

Here are a few suggestions from Kelly:

Heather Payne Photography

Have your buckets already in place when you fill them with water. This will eliminate the need to move them from one place to another when they’re heavy.

Set up your space in an assembly line fashion—even if you’re working alone! Work on one task until it’s complete and then move on to the next one.

If possible, have two separate trashcans—one for biodegradable waste (floral bits) and one for trash. Remember to remove all foliage that will be below the water line so as to reduce the chance of mold and bacterial growth.

As you process your flowers, set aside pieces to use for boutonnieres in a separate pile to be used later.

Remove undesirable/dead blooms and buds from each stem as you come across them. This will allow you to easily grab stems to place in your designs without having to remove the ugly spots later.

Kelly’s love for teaching and floral design shines through in developing the content, classes, and workshops for Team Flower, which she cofounded with husband Jesse Perry in 2014. Kelly has taught hundreds of people in her floral design workshops, her work has been featured in over 55 publications, and she’s held speaking engagements across the country.

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Kelly’s love for teaching and floral design shines through in developing the content, classes, and workshops for Team Flower, which she cofounded with husband Jesse Perry in 2014. Kelly has taught hundreds of people in her floral design workshops, her work has been featured in over 55 publications, and she’s held speaking engagements across the country.